The "Brother" documentary fever: Earning tens of billions, a gold mine for Vietnamese artists?

Documentary "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Challenges" causes a stir, attracting tens of thousands of fans to theaters

Recently, the film Rain of Fire - a documentary about the Brother Who Overcame Thousands of Difficulties - has attracted attention from the audience. According to Box Office Vietnam , as of May 22, the film has earned more than 8 billion VND.

Previously, the producer announced that Rain of Fire is the Vietnamese concert documentary with the highest revenue after 3 days of release.

The film also achieved some achievements for the domestic concert film genre: 13,000 tickets sold after the first 24 hours of ticket sales; welcomed more than 5,000 visitors at Galaxy Nguyen Du Cinema (HCMC) on the first day of release.

On the first day of release, the film earned more than 2.3 billion VND, surpassing Ly Hai's Lat mat 8: Vong tay nang (1.7 billion VND) and only behind Detective Kien: Ky an khong dau (3 billion VND) in terms of daily revenue.

Scene from the movie "Rain of Fire" (Photo: Organizer).

On social networks, viewers commented that the film Rain of Fire does not focus on dramatic situations but focuses on the emotions of the viewers. The behind-the-scenes story is told in chronological order but still has highlights, such as "secretly filmed" footage, conflicting situations and the way the "talents" express their true selves with an open and straightforward perspective.

Viewers praised the 125-minute film for its smooth, concise structure, demonstrating the experienced skills of director Dinh Ha Uyen Thu.

One of the notable situations was when People's Artist Tu Long once disagreed with the producer keeping the off-key singing parts of the "talents" for broadcast. In addition, the relationship between Tuan Hung and (S) TRONG Trong Hieu also attracted attention when the two had disagreements, stemming from irreconcilable differences in generation gap, viewpoints...

In the film, those moments are exposed honestly, without any avoidance, so that the audience can better understand each person's personality, the deep brotherhood of artists, the building of team spirit and understanding. In the end, those tensions are all resolved by the love and sympathy that the "talents" have for each other.

After a few screenings, audiences shared their feelings and wrote reviews about the film and posted them on social media. Many fans said they were moved to tears by the details and stories in the film. Through that, the work spread a positive message about the different values ​​of 33 "talents", how they accompany each other with love and passion for music .

The movie "Rain of Fire" reveals many never-before-seen hidden corners of the show "Brother Overcoming Thousands of Challenges" (Photo: Yeah1).

In March, the concert film Anh trai say hi: The villain creates the hero also attracted attention when it was released in theaters. The film earned 15.4 billion VND, currently holding the record for the highest-grossing music documentary on Vietnamese screens.

The above films have some similarities such as: The film was released after the success of a series of "sold-out" concerts, recording behind-the-scenes images in game shows, emotional stories, sublime moments and tears of artists... A series of moments when the audience immersed themselves in the performances were also recreated in the documentaries in a realistic and touching way.

To support the film, the audience of the programs carried out many forms of cheering, carrying banners and light sticks to flock to the theater. The film crews also held exchanges between artists and fans, meeting the needs of the large audience.

Audience gathered at the shopping mall for the premiere of the movie "Anh trai say hi: The villain creates the hero" on February 26 (Photo: Organizer).

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, media expert Hong Quang Minh commented that the recent support of music documentaries about the "Brother" series by audiences is a sign that the Vietnamese music market is gradually entering a more mature stage in terms of emotional reception and consumption.

Mr. Minh believes that fans go to the cinema not simply for entertainment, but to "reconnect" with what once moved and made them happy, and that emotion is what creates revenue, not filmmaking techniques or the artist's popularity.

"Audiences, especially the younger generation, are willing to spend money to see what they think is just a backstage view, or a recording of a past performance. That is, they no longer go to concerts, but go to see the very moments that moved them, told in a cinematic way, with layers, and with space for contemplation.

This proves a growing need: The need to see idols not only in MV releases, live broadcasts, and performances, but also to see their journey, their hidden corners, their real selves, and most importantly, to feel like they are a part of that story," the expert said.

Son Tung M-TP pioneers, Hoang Thuy Linh fails

Before the phenomenon of the music documentary series Anh trai vu ngan cong gai and Anh trai say hi , the Vietnamese entertainment market had witnessed the mark of a number of works of the same genre. Typically, Sky tour: The movie - the first Vietnamese music film, released in theaters in 2020.

The film is a documentary revolving around Son Tung M-TP's tour in Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang. The highlight that makes the film intriguing is the Thai Binh singer's sharing about financial pressure, how the singer overcame difficulties, and showed determination to bring the audience an impressive performance.

Son Tung M-TP in the movie "Sky tour: The movie" (Photo: Netflix).

When Sky tour: The movie was released, experts said that this was a music documentary with a large-scale release, not only shown domestically but also streamed online in 109 countries and territories.

The film also set a record at that time, selling 10,000 tickets within 48 hours, earning 5.5 billion VND in revenue after 3 days of release, then grossing a total of 11.5 billion VND.

In 2023, My Tam also attracted attention when releasing the documentary Tri am the movie: Nguoi mot thoi gian. Experts commented that the work was well-written, had a well-rounded story, and created emotions for viewers. The film left theaters after 9 days, earning 12 billion VND.

My Tam's film records the singer and crew preparing for two "Tri am" shows in Ho Chi Minh City (April 2021) and Hanoi (November 2022) (Photo: Organizer).

However, not all Vietnamese singers achieve certain revenue achievements when making documentaries. The characteristic of this film genre is that revenue depends on the artist's reputation and the size of the fan community. When these two factors are not large enough, making a documentary is a "gamble" with a high risk of failure because the film's content is very selective of neutral audiences.

In March, the film Vietnamese Concert: We Are Vietnamese by Hoang Thuy Linh was released in theaters with a limited screening time of 18 hours in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho . However, after about a week, the crew announced that the film would be withdrawn from theaters, achieving a modest revenue of 200 million VND.

Regarding the case of Hoang Thuy Linh, expert Hong Quang Minh commented that she is a talented singer with her own musical identity. However, the documentary We Are Vietnamese is considered to be at a safe level. The film's meager revenue was also predicted by industry insiders.

"The key point is that audiences don't just go to music documentaries to see how beautiful or how good their idols are, but to see how real they are, how hurt they are, and how they overcome it. It has to be an emotional journey, sometimes making viewers feel empathy, even wanting to cry with them.

If a film plays it safe emotionally, only choosing beautiful scenes and carefully prepared sharings, it is difficult for the audience to feel "invited" into the artist's real world. Music documentaries, by their very nature, are not promotional tools, but rather "big confessions" where the artist reveals both his own light and darkness.

When that is not clear enough, or not deep enough, no matter how well-crafted the image is, the film still does not create the motivation for people to spend money and time going to the cinema. Because in the end, what people need is not to know more about the artist, but to see themselves in that story," the expert said.

Despite being supported by a section of fans, Hoang Thuy Linh's documentary left theaters quickly, with little revenue (Photo: Organizers).

What is the future for Vietnamese musical films?

Although Vietnamese musical films have had some achievements, some say that compared to the world, the difference in revenue and quality is still quite far.

"It's too early to say whether this is a "gold mine" for the Vietnamese entertainment industry or not," one viewer commented.

In the European, American and Korean markets, many international stars such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, BTS, Blackpink… have all released documentaries about their careers, lives behind the spotlight, and the dark side of their tours, earning millions of dollars. The history of this film genre has also recorded outstanding works, highly appreciated for their cinematic quality, such as films about Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan…

Many opinions say that Vietnamese music films mostly fall into the formula of stuffing in behind-the-scenes footage, combining a few artist shares, lacking cinematic language, lacking a layered story, loose structure, and lengthy duration.

The series of films that once held revenue records also caused controversy about their quality. The documentary about Say Hi Brother was criticized as a "behind-the-scenes video", unprofessional exploitation, and sloppy editing. The film about Son Tung M-TP was commented to have monotonous content, lacking a true perspective on the character.

Artist reputation and fan community size play a big role in the success of a musical film (Photo: Organizer).

Expert Hong Quang Minh believes that the crews taking advantage of the fan wave to do music film business is not a "smart move" in the communication strategy, a reasonable step in the process of expanding the artist ecosystem. However, this direction cannot be based solely on the large number of fans or the simple love that fans have for the artists.

"The most important thing is whether the artist has enough "story" and material to tell the story and whether that story touches the viewer's life experience.

Looking more broadly, documentaries by international artists such as Taylor Swift, BTS, Blackpink or Beyoncé have clearly shown that: Retelling artistic journeys through cinema is not a "good idea", but a strategy for building legacy.

What I admire most is not the level of investment, but the courage to be naked, to be completely honest, to admit mistakes, to cry, to step back, to show even the ugly things. And that not only makes fans love them more, but also makes them cultural icons," the expert said.

Mr. Minh believes that Vietnamese artists should learn from international artists’ storytelling in documentaries: Don’t tell too much, but choose a clear, powerful plot. This requires artists and crews to be brave enough to look back at themselves, have a broad vision, and have enough faith in the story they present for others to see themselves in it.

"At that time, a music documentary was not just "a post-concert excitement", but part of the journey to build a personal monument, in a very artistic and humane way", the expert commented.

The future of Vietnamese music documentaries remains open after the trend of making films about "Brother" (Photo: Organizers).

Dan Tri reporters also asked industry experts about the possibility of the movie "Rai lua" by "Anh trai dua ngan cong gai" breaking the revenue record currently held by the movie " Anh trai say hi" .

Many people believe that the film Rain of Fire was directed by Dinh Ha Uyen Thu in a methodical way, with twists and climaxes, creating emotions for viewers, improving many of the shortcomings compared to some previous Vietnamese musical films. However, the possibility of the film creating new history for the revenue of this film genre is still open.

Currently, the film is only released in 4 cinema systems: Galaxy, Lotte, BHD and National Cinema Center. Absent from the CGV cinema system, the film faces a significant challenge in maintaining screenings and reaching a large audience. In addition, the film is also competing with many strong rivals such as: Doreamon: Nobita and the Adventure into the World in Pictures, Lilo & Stitch...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/con-sot-phim-tai-lieu-anh-trai-thu-ve-chuc-ty-mo-vang-cho-nghe-si-viet-20250522072853590.htm